View source for On Your Toes

{{short description|Musical}}
{{about||the film adaptation|On Your Toes (1939 film)|the American silent comedy film|On Your Toes (1927 film)}}
{{Infobox Musical
|name= On Your Toes
|subtitle=
|image= OnYourToes1.jpg
|caption=Original promotional material
|music=[[Richard Rodgers]]
|lyrics=[[Lorenz Hart]]
|book=[[Richard Rodgers]] <br> [[George Abbott]] <br> [[Lorenz Hart]]
|basis=
|productions= 1936 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] <br> 1939 [[Film]] <br> 1954 Broadway revival <br> 1983 Broadway revival
<!-- Please do not include production-specific (acting, directing, etc.) awards -->
|awards= 1983 [[Tony Award]] for Best Reproduction <br> 1983 [[Drama Desk Award]] for Outstanding Revival 
}}

'''''On Your Toes''''' (1936) is a musical with a book by [[Richard Rodgers]], [[George Abbott]], and [[Lorenz Hart]], music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939.

While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dolan III tries to persuade Sergei Alexandrovich, the director of the Russian Ballet, to stage the jazz ballet ''[[Slaughter on Tenth Avenue]]''. After becoming involved with the company's prima ballerina Vera Barnova, Junior is forced to assume the male lead in ''Slaughter''. Trouble ensues when he becomes the target of two thugs hired by Vera's lover and dance partner to kill him.

''On Your Toes'' marked the first time a Broadway musical made dramatic use of classical dance and incorporated jazz into its score.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

==Background==
''On Your Toes'' originally was conceived as a film, and as a vehicle for [[Fred Astaire]]. His refusal of the part, because he thought that the role clashed with his debonair image developed in his contemporary films, caused it to be presented initially as a stage production. Richard Rodgers wrote:  "Astaire at that point in his career was a pretty chic fellow who usually wore white ties and tails, and the producers felt that there was no chance in our script for him to appear that way."<ref>[http://www.rnh.com/show_detail.asp?id=OY Writer's Notes, Richard Rodgers]{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} R&H, accessed May 19, 2009</ref><ref>Grimmond, Peter. ''Oxford Companion to Popular Music'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|0-19-280004-3}}</ref> Astaire thought that the ballet background in the plot was too "highbrow" for his audiences.<ref>Hemming, Roy. ''The melody lingers on'' (1999), Newmarket Press, {{ISBN|1-55704-380-9}}, p. 224</ref> [[Ray Bolger]] was given the stage role, which allowed him to rise to stardom. [[Eddie Albert]], not known as a dancer in his career, gave a remarkable performance opposite [[Vera Zorina]] in the 1939 film.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031756/ ''On Your Toes''] imdb.com, accessed June 3, 2016</ref>

==Productions==
The first Broadway production, directed by C. Worthington Miner and choreographed by [[George Balanchine]], opened on April 11, 1936, at the [[Imperial Theatre (Broadway)|Imperial Theatre]], where it ran for seven months, then transferred to the [[Majestic Theatre (Broadway)|Majestic]], for a total run of 315 performances. The cast included [[Ray Bolger]] (Junior), [[Tamara Geva]] (Vera Barnova), and [[Monty Woolley]] (Sergei Alexandrovitch).

The London West End production opened on February 5, 1937, at the [[Palace Theatre, London|Palace Theatre]], with [[Jack Whiting (actor)|Jack Whiting]] (Junior) and [[Vera Zorina]] (Vera Barnova).

The first Broadway revival, directed by Abbott and choreographed by Balanchine, opened on October 11, 1954 at the [[46th Street Theatre]], where it ran for 64 performances. The cast included Vera Zorina, [[Bobby Van (actor)|Bobby Van]], [[Elaine Stritch]], and [[David Winters (choreographer)|David Winters]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/production/on-your-toes-46th-street-theatre-vault-0000003120|title=On Your Toes Broadway @ 46th Street Theatre - Tickets and Discounts|website=Playbill|language=en|access-date=2019-04-23}}</ref> The original score was embellished with "[[You Took Advantage of Me]]," sung by Stritch.<ref>Zolotow, Sam. "Bow Tonight Set for 'On Your Toes'." New York Times, 11 October 1954, 11.</ref>

The second revival, directed by Abbott and choreographed by [[Donald Saddler]], started in 1982 with national previews. One of the original cast members, [[Natalia Makarova]], was injured during the preview at the [[John F. Kennedy Center]] in Washington, D.C. [[Valentina Kozlova]] filled in the role, and [[Leonid Kozlov]], her former husband, replaced [[George de la Peña]] to complete the previews.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/01/arts/natalia-makarova-to-return-to-toes.html Natalia Makarova to Return to 'Toes'], ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 1, 1983, accessed May 2, 2009</ref> After seven previews, the revival opened on March 6, 1983 at the [[Virginia Theatre]] with the original cast, where it ran for 505 performances. The cast included Natalia Makarova, [[Christine Andreas]], George de la Peña, [[George S. Irving]], [[Dina Merrill]], [[Philip Arthur Ross]], [[Betty Ann Grove]] and [[Lara Teeter]].<ref>[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4208 On Your Toes], ''IBDB - Internet Broadway Database'', accessed May 2, 2009</ref> Makarova won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a musical. 

[[Hans Spialek]] had orchestrated ''On Your Toes'' and several other Rodgers-and-Hart musicials in the 1930s; in 1982 he was engaged to reconstruct his original orchestrations for the revival. In 1983 he told the [[New York Times]], "'On Your Toes' was 47 years ago. You know how much was lost, how much was trampled on, how much was smashed, how much you had to restore it? You might say I have a pretty good memory."<ref>Pareles, John. "What is The Sound of Broadway? Hans Spialek Knows." New York Times, 17 April 1983, 67.</ref> He also reported, "You have no more real orchestral sound in musical comedy. I think it's those microphones—they ruin the natural color."<ref>Pareles, John. "What is The Sound of Broadway? Hans Spialek Knows." New York Times, 17 April 1983, 67.</ref>

The same production opened at the [[Palace Theatre, London]] on June 12, 1984, starring Natalia Makarova, [[Tim Flavin]], Siobhan McCarthy and [[Honor Blackman]]; it received rave reviews and ran for 539 performances, closing on 17 October 1985, with its backing "angels" losing about 80% of their investments.<ref>Dempster, Nigel. "The Door Closes on Dor's Toes." Daily Mail (London), 9 August 1985.</ref>

==Roles and original cast==
The main characters in the 1936 Broadway production were as follows:<ref name="Dietz2018">{{cite book
 |last = Dietz
 |first = Dan 
 |title = The Complete Book of 1930s Broadway Musicals
 |date = 2018
 |edition = 1st
 |type = hardcover
 |location = Lanham, MD
 |publisher = Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
 |isbn = 978-1-5381-0276-3
}}</ref>{{rp|page=411}}
  
*Phil Dolan II – Dave Jones
*Lil Dolan – Ethel Hampton
*Phil Dolan III, {{aka}} Junior – Tyrone Kearney, [[Ray Bolger]]
*Call Boy – Beau Tilden
*Lola – Betty Jane Smith
*Frankie Frayne – Doris Carson
*Sidney Cohn – David Morris
*Vera Barnova – [[Tamara Geva]]
*Anushka – Mae Noble
*Peggy Porterfield – [[Luella Gear]]
*Sergei Alexandrovitch – [[Monty Woolley]]
*Konstantine Morrosine – Demetrios Vilan
*Snoopy – [[William Wadsworth (actor)|William Wadsworth]]
*Mishka – Valery Streshnev
*Vassili – [[Robert Sidney (choreographer)|Robert Sidney]]
*Dimitri – Basil Galahoff
*Leon – Harold Haskin
*Call Boy – Bob Long

==Synopsis==
;Act I

On a [[vaudeville]] stage, Phil Dolan II, his wife Lili, and his son Junior perform their nightly routine, but afterwards in the dressing room, the parents tell Junior that he must go to school. Fifteen years later, as predicted, Junior is a music teacher at Knickerbocker University. He has two talented students: Sidney Cohn and Frankie Frayne. Sidney has written a promising jazz ballet which Frankie catches Junior dancing to alone in the classroom (uncovering his "secret past"), and she trades an introduction to the Russian Ballet's manager in return for his listening to her song.

In the apartment of Vera Baranova, star of the Russian Ballet, Peggy, the manager, enthusiastically tells Sergei, the company's director, about the new jazz ballet. He is not interested in anything new - he doesn't even recognise that the Revolution has happened! Junior arrives as Vera and co-star/unfaithful lover Konstantine Morrosine are having a Russian screaming match. The others leave, so that Vera and Junior can discuss the new ballet, but that leads to a new entanglement.

Back in the classroom, Frankie is jealous of Junior's stories about Vera and the Russians (Peggy has promised him a chance to dance in the corps de ballet), and they both wish they were away from it all. At the opening of the ballet, ''La Princesse Zenobia'', Junior is told that one of the dancers is in jail and he must take his place, but onstage he gets all his steps, rhythms and positions cock-eyed and makes a laughing-stock of the ballet. But the audience loves it, nevertheless.

;Act II

Sergei, Peggy, Vera, Morrosine and Junior have listened to the jazz ballet. Opinions are mixed, and Vera and Morrosine are still arguing, as he becomes increasingly jealous of Junior. Poor Junior has got love problems, too: he upsets Frankie by going to lunch with Vera (for business reasons) instead of her, but she is "[[Glad to Be Unhappy]]".

Then Peggy, Sergei, and some of the company visit Junior's school. Sergei has come to break the bad news that he will not be doing the jazz ballet, but Peggy persuades him by threatening to pull out the million dollars she has put into the company. After Sergei's announcement that the next production will be ''Slaughter on Tenth Avenue'', the class stages the title number "On Your Toes", in which the students' jazz and the company's classical routines are deftly combined.

At a rehearsal, Morrosine's jealousy of Junior escalates, he fights with Sergei and is knocked–out, suddenly making Junior the new star. The humiliated Morrosine plots with his gangster friend, Louie, to shoot Junior at the end of the performance. Joe, the stage doorman, overhears and warns Frankie. On-stage, Junior is tipped–off by her, and signals to the conductor to avoid the final loud climax which would cover the shot, so he keeps the orchestra playing the last few bars of the music over and over as Junior dances frantically to keep the shooter from firing until the police arrest him. After the curtain call, Frankie embraces Junior and is startled to see his parents waiting to congratulate him. Junior chooses Frankie over Vera, asks her never to leave him.  The music-teacher has made it back to his home-ground - the stage.

==Original song list==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
;Act I
* "Two a Day for Keith" – Phil Dolan II, Lili, Junior
* "Questions and Answers (The Three Bs)" – Junior, Students 
* "It's Got to Be Love" – Frankie, Junior, Students
* "Too Good for the Average Man" – Peggy, Sergei
* "[[There's a Small Hotel]]" – Junior, Frankie
* Princesse Zenobia Ballet – Orchestra
{{col-break}}
;Act II
* "The Heart Is Quicker than the Eye" – Peggy, Junior
* "Quiet Night" – Students
* "[[Glad to Be Unhappy]]" – Frankie
* "On Your Toes" – Frankie, Students
* [[Slaughter on Tenth Avenue]] – Orchestra
{{col-end}}

==1983 awards and nominations==
*[[Tony Award for Best Revival]] (winner)
*[[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical]] ([[Natalia Makarova]], winner) 
*[[Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical]] ([[Lara Teeter]], nominee) 
*[[Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical]] ([[Christine Andreas]], nominee) 
*[[Tony Award for Best Choreography]] (nominee)
*[[Theatre World Award]] ([[Natalia Makarova]], winner)
*[[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival]] (winner) 
*[[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical]] ([[Natalia Makarova]], winner) 
*[[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography]] (nominee)
*[[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical]] (winner)
*[[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations]] (winner)
*[[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design]] (nominee)
{{Clear}}

==Film adaptation==
In 1939, Warner Bros. filmed ''On Your Toes'' as adapted by [[Sig Herzig]] and [[Lawrence Riley]] and written by Richard Macauley and [[Jerry Wald]], with [[Ray Enright]] directing. The film stars ballerina [[Vera Zorina]] (billed as Zorina), [[Eddie Albert]], [[Alan Hale Sr.|Alan Hale]] and [[Frank McHugh]], and features [[Leonid Kinskey]], [[Gloria Dickson]], [[James Gleason]], [[Erik Rhodes (actor, born 1906)|Erik Rhodes]], [[Berton Churchill]] and [[Donald O'Connor]].

Although some of the songs from the Broadway score were used as background music, the film does not have any singing in it. The ''[[Slaughter on Tenth Avenue]]'' ballet does appear at the end of the film, with choreography by [[George Balanchine]], one of eight films for which he created the dances. Eddie Albert's character dances the lead in the ballet, opposite Zorina. According to John Reid, "Albert is no dancer...But with the aid of a visual double for one or two shots plus post-synched taps, he actually manages rather well, and even duets with the great Zorina with reasonable facility."<ref>Reid, John. ''More Movie Musicals'' (2006), Lulu.comp, {{ISBN|1-4116-7342-5}}, 129</ref>

[[Gene Kelly]] and [[Vera-Ellen]] perform an abbreviated version of the ballet in the [[biopic]] ''[[Words and Music (1948 film)|Words and Music]]''.<ref>Hess, Earl J., and Dabholkar, Pratibha A. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=z6KmEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA213 Gene Kelly: The Making of a Creative Legend]''. United States, University Press of Kansas, 2020. 213.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{ibdb show|id=6741|title=On Your Toes}}
*[http://www.ovrtur.com/show/120524 ''On Your Toes'' on Ovrtur.com]
*[http://www.rnh.com/show/79/On-Your-Toes History from R&H Theatricals]
*{{IMDb title|qid=Q2023653}}
*{{TCMDb title|589}}

{{Rodgers and Hart}}
{{TonyAward Revival}}
{{Ray Enright}}

 <!-- 1939 film -->

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:On Your Toes}}
[[Category:Films about ballet]]
[[Category:1939 musical films]]
[[Category:1936 musicals]]
[[Category:1939 films]]
[[Category:Broadway musicals]]
[[Category:American films based on plays]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ray Enright]]
[[Category:Musicals by Rodgers and Hart]]
[[Category:Musicals choreographed by George Balanchine]]
[[Category:Original musicals]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:West End musicals]]
[[Category:Tony Award–winning musicals]]
[[Category:Musicals set in schools]]